


Rhinestone Cowboy

by lapislazuleaf



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, F/F, Gun Violence, Masochism, Period-Typical Racism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:00:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16697644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapislazuleaf/pseuds/lapislazuleaf
Summary: The year is 1887. Peridot Daimond inherited a large fortune from her family and, as a reckless young adult does in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, she gambled it away... then stole it all back, getting her hands dirty in the process. Wanted and on the run, Peridot ventures deep into the untamed Dakota prairie, stopping in the small settlement of Akiscu. The crossdressing casanova makes a lasting impression on the townspeople, much to her dismay.





	1. First Impressions

The cadence of hooves was the only sound Peridot had heard for days. Her trusty steed, a caramel mare named Pumpkin, carried her across the rolling prairie. A week prior, Peridot had lost her family fortune on a craps table in Deadwood. A rather impulsive draw of her revolver had won it all back, in addition to earning her a one-way ticket to notoriety. Soon, all the lawmen of Dakota Territory would be after her; that is, as soon as news could travel by pony express.

So, Peridot did what one does as an outlaw and took off. Night after night, Peridot slept beneath the stars, the crackling of her campfire and the distant howls of coyotes lulling her to sleep each night like a Dakota lullaby. The Black Hills faded into prairie. Endless, boring prairie, only interrupted by the Badlands. Despite the beautiful, striking contrast between the royal blue sunsets and the red, iron-rich layers of sediment, traversing the dusty plateaus sucked, and was probably the only thing that could make the reappearance of familiar grasslands a welcome sight to our gunslinging fugitive.

Finally, finally, the blank horizon became distorted by buildings. Akiscu, a small town, nestled on the edge of the Badlands and White River valley. In her fleeing, Peridot had encountered a surprisingly cordial Lakota woman who told her of this settlement. A population of a meager hundred people, a quaint inn, and best of all: untouched by railroad. A perfect place for Peridot to hide for the time being.

Peridot clicked her tongue, flicking her weary horse’s reins, urging her onward. Pumpkin’s hooves kicked up dust as she drudged along the road into the “town”, if one could call it such. A stray tumbleweed blew across the road, making the main street seem like a ghost town – safe for the few men scattered about by storefronts, kicked back in rocking chairs or leaned against pillars, hacking up chew into the dirt. Peridot avoided eye contact. She halted Pumpkin outside a building with the sound of a piano and drunken men spilling from the door. Peridot regarded the sign with a skeptical gaze:

_The Big Saloon_

Certainly, it was the biggest structure on the street, so the name made sense, even if it was a bit tacky. Peridot swung her leg over Pumpkin, dismounting with a _clink_ of her spurs. Not that she needed spurs for Pumpkin – spurs just looked cool. Peridot was cool. She tied Pumpkin’s reins to a post next to some other horses, pursing her lips when the black and white horse next to Pumpkin bumped his head against the mare affectionately. A stoic young man was leaning against the side of the building, a pair of dark tinted glasses obscuring his eyes. He turned up his nose at Peridot and she returned the gesture, walking past him and entering the saloon.

Immediately, the loud music and voices made Peridot’s introversion broil up from her chest and choke her. On the stage, a young boy who couldn’t be any older than fourteen was playing away on the piano. A beautiful, tan-skinned woman in a royal blue dress was dancing and swaying to the music onstage. Just below the stage was a crowd of young men – quite sizable given the population of this pseudo-township – regarding the girl with beady, prying eyes. A few less interested patrons were scattered throughout the establishment. Peridot noticed a group of unsavory characters in the corner, playing a game of cards. Peridot quickly put them out of her mind and made her way to the counter. The last thing she needed was more gambling. The bartending staff left a lot to be desired, particularly with the tall, skinny young man who was picking at his teeth while a shorter, stout blonde girl wiped down the countertop. Peridot felt bad for the girl.

“Soda, please,” Peridot said, taking a seat on one of the stools.

The blonde girl quickly retrieved Peridot’s beverage and slid it across the countertop to her. Peridot caught it easily, popping the lid off the glass bottle.

“Thanks.”

The piano music cut off suddenly and a turmoil across the saloon caught Peridot’s attention.

“Let me go!”

Peridot turned around on the stool to see one of the drunken men had grabbed the poor dancer from off the stage and was manhandling her as she fought against him. Without thinking, Peridot’s left hand reached around her waist and pulled out her six-shooter, thumb instinctively cocking the hammer back. Peridot’s eyes trained on the drunk’s cigarette, hanging from his mouth, and muscle memory did the rest – no aiming necessary.

_Bang!_

The man’s cigarette was cut in half by the bullet, the cherry falling to the floor and dying out before it could start a fire. The window behind him shattered loudly from the rogue lead projectile, silencing the entire saloon. All eyes were on Peridot, who simply smiled at the shaken dancer, tipped her grey cowboy hat, and turned back to her soda pop. The commotion of the saloon resumed a moment later. The drunk man forgot he was in the middle of harassing the poor saloon girl and patted at his pockets for a match to relight his cigarette.

Peridot was sipping on her soda when a voice startled her, sending the fizzy concoction through Peridot’s nostrils and onto the counter. She pinched her nose, wincing at the unpleasant sensation.

“That was quite the trick shot,” the smooth, pretty voice said.

Peridot could see the saloon girl in her peripheral vision and she began to panic. _Don’t look at her. Don’t look at the cute girl. Be cool. Be aloof. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look. Fuck, fuck, fuck._ She tried to recover from her reverse soda-snorting and sipped on the drink, acting disinterested.

Lapis tilted her head curiously. It wasn’t often she got ignored. Rather, she was used to being drooled over on the daily. In fact, it was basically her job. Show up. Dance. Get tips. Don’t even need to wear shoes. Demeaning? Maybe. Keeps food on the table? Definitely. The point being – anyone who would blow her off like so was guaranteed to be a fascinating individual indeed.

Across the saloon, Jasper Quartz was watching this exchange with great interest. Lapis Lazuli was objectively the most beautiful and revered girl in town, despite being half Lakota. Yet, she never spared Jasper the time of day. What was so great about some scrawny gunslinger who waltzed into the saloon like she owned the place? Jasper could shoot a gun, too.

Anyone who was fancied over Jasper was a threat. She stormed across the saloon and grabbed the skinny blonde’s shoulder, turning her around on her barstool, “Hey, runt. Nice shooting.”

Peridot was momentarily surprised by Jasper grabbing her, but quickly put on a bored expression as if she were having a conversation with Koh the Face Stealer. “Thanks,” she replied nasally.

“You better be careful waving your gun around like that, though. You wouldn’t want to make enemies with the wrong folks,” Jasper sneered, hooking an arm around Peridot’s neck roughly, “How about you come join me and my boys across the saloon? We can teach you a thing or two about shooting.”

Peridot pushed Jasper’s arm off her shoulders, “That’s a mighty generous offer…” she squinted at Jasper, “… Miss? But I couldn’t possibly accept.”

“Nonsense!” Jasper retorted, wrapping a beefy hand around Peridot’s arm, tugging her towards the table of gamblers.

Peridot slapped Jasper’s hand away. “I. Said. No,” she growled, her green eyes boring into Jasper with a look that could kill.

Jasper faced Peridot, narrowing her eyes, “That tone sounds an awful lot like you’re looking for trouble.”

“You don’t wanna fight me, buddy,” Peridot said quietly, an air of confidence radiating from her.  

Jasper’s lips formed a subtle pout as she sized up Peridot. In a flash, she snarled and swung a fist at Peridot’s face. Except her fist only connected with air. Peridot had ducked under the punch, stepping around the brutish woman, and Jasper spun around to see the tiny Casanova smiling slyly.

“Bad aim, ma’am. I could teach you a thing or two.”

Another punch that didn’t land. And another. Jasper swung furiously at Peridot, but the smaller girl ducked and weaved away from each flying fist, seemingly unphased. Peridot backed into a table and Jasper thought she had a hit for sure this time, lunging forward. Peridot side-stepped out of the way and Jasper fell into the table, knocking it over along with a few chairs. She rolled over and saw Peridot looking down at her.

“Tsk-tsk, such a shame. That table was rather nice,” Peridot taunted.

Jasper growled, clambering up from the floor and resuming her cat-and-mouse game with Peridot. One punch did connect with Peridot, but only because she had grabbed the outstretched fist and used Jasper’s leverage to shove her into a table. The two men sitting at said table looked displeased. Jasper, covered in beer and playing cards, looked even more displeased, seething at Peridot.

Peridot felt fear bubbling up at Jasper’s murderous glare, taking a few steps back until she felt a wall, keeping the emotion from her features. Her instincts were telling her to _draw_ , but her common sense kept Peridot’s gun holstered. If she killed anybody else, she’d have to leave Akiscu immediately. Jasper got up from the table and ran at her. Peridot ducked away from the punch that she knew was coming, sending Jasper’s fist through one of the windows. Time seemed to freeze as Jasper paused, worrying she might have cut her hand as the shattered glass clattered to the floor. Peridot smirked, grabbing a nearby chair and swinging it around and over Jasper’s head. The beefy woman fell to the ground, landing on her face, unconscious. Peridot tossed the busted chair aside, clearing her throat nonchalantly.

Everyone in the saloon was staring at Peridot as she made her way back to her seat, where Lapis Lazuli was gawking at her, heart fluttering.

“Check, please,” Peridot announced to the lady bartender.

The girl and her coworker were practically cowering. The male bartender was cowardly hiding behind the girl. “Uh,” the stout girl stuttered, “It’s on the house. Now, uhm, please leave. We only have so many tables to break.”

Peridot felt guilty. She and Jasper _had_ trashed the saloon in their one-sided sparring match. “I’d be happy to cover the damages,” Peridot offered, mentally resigning herself to the loss of weight in her pocket at whatever she’d have to fork over.

“No, no. That’s alright. Thank you,” the girl insisted, waving a hand at Peridot. She didn’t say it, but everyone in the saloon, aside from Jasper’s gang that was now fussing over her unconscious body, was happy to see someone finally best the cocky gang leader.

Peridot shrugged, tipping her hat to the bartender and strutting out of the saloon, the jingle of her spurs echoing through the ghostly silent establishment.

Just outside the doorway, the stoic young man spoke up, “I’m Buck Dewey.”

Peridot looked over her shoulder at him, wondering why he was choosing to be friendly now. Must be impressed by the so-called barfight. “Peridot Daimond,” Peridot replied.

“What you did in there was pretty cool,” he praised, lowering his shades so Peridot could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“Thanks,” Peridot said, untying Pumpkin from the post.

“I should tell you,” Buck said, “Your horse got lucky while you were in there.”

Peridot glared at the stallion next to Pumpkin, sighing heavily. “Thanks for telling me,” she said, climbing onto Pumpkin’s saddle, “Where’s the Inn?”

“End of the street,” Buck said.

With a flick of her reins, Pumpkin was off, trotting down the street. The inn was easy to find, being the second largest building after the saloon. It was a two-story building, white, with a porch and a balcony above it. On the railing of the balcony was a sign, which read:

_The Pearl Hotel_

Just as Peridot’s boots touched the ground, a short Indian woman with a wild head of hair stepped out of the inn. “Howdy,” she greeted.

“Hello.”

“I’m Amethyst. You fixing for a room?” she asked.

Peridot unloaded her war bag from Pumpkin’s back, “Yeah.”

Amethyst approached and took Pumpkin’s reins. “I’ll take your horsey to the stable out back. Pearl’s inside, she’ll get you checked in and all that.”

Before Peridot could thank Amethyst, the girl was gone, Pumpkin in tow. Peridot sighed, took off her grey cowboy hat, and trudged up the steps into _The Pearl Hotel._


	2. Pebbles to a Window

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12/3 idk when i'll be able to post chapter 3 because this is finals week and im grinding 24 hours a day but i promise its in the works

Peridot picked at her steak, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Pearl, the owner and namesake of the hotel, had been very welcoming. Overly welcoming, even; she practically ripped off Peridot’s frock coat before throwing it onto the coat rack. Peridot assumed they didn’t get much business in a town like Akiscu. Just before dinner had been served, the pianist from the saloon had arrived – Steven was his name. Apparently, he lived at the inn with Pearl and Amethyst. He was all too eager to regale Peridot’s hostesses with the tale of her bravery and heroism at _The Big Saloon_ against the notorious Jasper.

“Really,” Peridot said modestly, “it’s simply a matter of dodging those big, beefy hands of hers. Not much else to it.”

“Well,” Pearl said, “You’re still lucky you survived. I’m surprised she didn’t shoot you.”

Peridot chewed on her steak, not bothering to mention that she could probably draw her own pistol before Jasper could twitch a finger. A knock on the door interrupted that _cheerful_ line of thought.

Amethyst jumped up from the table, “I got it!” She ran out of the dining room. Peridot could hear her voice carrying from the other room. “Oh, hey, Constable Garnet! What brings you here?”

Peridot struggled to make out the quiet reply, though she did pick up on her own name being spoken. Her blood ran cold. Could the law have caught up to her already? She willed herself to stay seated as Amethyst and the lawman – lawwoman? – entered the room. Garnet was tall and twice as intimidating as a coiled rattlesnake. She took a seat beside Peridot, who was currently sweating bullets more than she shot them. “Evening, Peridot.”

Peridot didn’t say anything, not trusting her voice to remain steady.

“I heard you had a bit of a scrap with Jasper Quartz at the saloon,” Garnet continued. She gave Peridot a small smile. “Awfully brave of you.”

Praise was the last thing Peridot expected to hear from a member of law enforcement. “Uh, thank you.”

Garnet frowned, “But I ought to warn you: Jasper’s a shady character and she doesn’t take nicely to newcomers. _Especially_ the kind that can make a fool of her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Peridot replied. She appreciated Garnet’s concern, but if Jasper was as much of a bully as she was being made out to be… Peridot was definitely going to make a fool of the uppish brute. She stood up, excusing herself from the table, “Thank you for the meal, Miss Pearl. I’m gonna hit the hay.”

“Goodnight, Peridot,” Garnet said, her tone unreadable.

Peridot marched up the creaky steps to her room, swiping a candle from the hallway to light the oil lamp in her room. She sat on the creaky bed and yanked her boots off, followed by her dark green vest. She removed her belt and hung it over the bedpost, in case she needed to get to her gun. As much as she preferred her style of dress to the ladylike threads her late mother had always pushed her towards, it was still a relief when she could kick off the tight boots and extra layers at the end of the day. Why society expected people to wear jackets and vests in the middle of the summer, Peridot didn’t know. She turned down the oil lamp and slipped under the covers, closing her eyes and waiting to drift off.

 _Tap._ Peridot’s eyes flew open. _Tap. Tap._ The noise was coming from her window. She grumbled to herself, climbing out of bed and turning the lamp up so high it started to give off puffs of black smoke. She threw open the window, “What in tarnation is—” a fist-sized rock hitting her square in the nose interrupted her. Peridot stumbled back from the window, clutching her nose. It felt broken.

Outside the window, Peridot heard somebody giggle and offer an insincere, “Oops.”

Peridot went back to the window and looked down at her assailant, finding none other than the saloon dancer from earlier today. Her blue dress was replaced with plain, long-sleeved, white men’s shirt and loose, beige slacks. She wasn’t wearing shoes.

Peridot noticed blood trickling from her freshly-busted nose. “What are you doing down there, Miss?” Peridot questioned nasally, pinching her damaged nose.

“First of all,” the dancer said, “It’s Lapis. Lapis Lazuli. And second: it’s a mighty fine night and I’d hate to see someone as fancy as yourself sleep it all away. Come down here with me.” 

Peridot was definitely not going to ‘come down’ for some random crossdressing saloon girl. “You come of awfully strong, don’tcha?” she complained, “’Sides, some people prefer to sleep at night.”

Lapis huffed loudly, chewing her lip. “Well…” she trailed off, “I’m already here. You can’t expect a lady such as myself to walk herself home in the dark, now can you?”

Rather than point out how Lapis had managed to get to the hotel in the dark perfectly fine, Peridot huffed back. “Fine.” She disappeared from the window, begrudgingly putting her belt, vest, and boots back on. She went back to the window and climbed out – Lapis laughed at this – and lowered herself to the ground, ignoring the pain in her ankles when she dropped down a bit farther than was safe.

“You could have at least climbed down from the balcony,” Lapis teased.

“Where do you live?” Peridot asked, ignoring Lapis’s remark.

Lapis hooked arms with Peridot, “I’ll lead the way.”

The two of them strolled through town at Lapis’s pace – that is, a snail’s pace – chit-chatting absentmindedly.

“Akiscu,” Peridot said, the word rolling off her tongue strangely. “What an odd name for a town.”

“It’s Lakota,” Lapis explained.

“Oh,” Peridot chewed the inside of her cheek. In her hometown of Deadwood, hostilities still ran rampant between white settlers and the local Indians. Lapis was clearly a member of the latter group, but Peridot couldn’t help but notice her blue eyes and the freckles that dotted her cheeks. She wondered if it would be impolite to ask which of Lapis’s parents was the white one. Probably. Peridot knew firsthand that parents could be a touchy subject, even without bringing skin color into it. “What does it mean? Akiscu?”

Lapis stopped walking and leaned down to pick up a stray dandelion. “It means,” she said, tucking the weed behind Peridot’s ear and looking into her eyes, “being partial to your own kind.”

Peridot felt her face heat up when Lapis’s fingers brushed her cheek, struggling to remember how to speak, “How awful.”

Lapis frowned and Peridot wondered what had been meant by _your own kind_ , “I suppose.” They continued walking. “Where are you from?” Lapis asked, trying to change the topic.

“All over,” Peridot answered, her mind still reeling over Lapis touching her face.

Lapis persisted, “Well, what brings you to this part of Dakota Territory?”

Peridot shrugged, “My horse.”

It wasn’t that funny of a joke, but Lapis snorted and laughed at it nevertheless. _Oh my god_ , Peridot thought, _her laugh is so cute._ The fugitive found herself smiling as well.

The lighthearted tone of their conversation quickly evaporated. “I want to show you something,” Lapis said, tugging Peridot towards the church. The door was unlocked and they slipped inside quietly, careful to close the door slowly so they wouldn’t disturb the priest, wherever he was. Lapis pointed up to the ceiling, mouthing, “Follow me,” and started scaling a flimsy ladder built into the wall of the church entrance room.

The ladder took them up to the bell tower and Lapis hopped out through the opening where the bell overlooked the whole town, offering Peridot a hand. Peridot copied Lapis, defiantly refusing the outstretched hand. Lapis let it fall limply to her side. They carefully walked across the roof of the church until Lapis sat down and looked up at the sky, patting the shingles next to her.

“Did you bring me up here just to show me the stars?” Peridot complained, taking a seat next to Lapis, “I can see those from my room at the inn.”

Lapis shook her head, “You are so hard to please.”

Peridot rolled her eyes, “It’s not my fault that I’ve seen stars before, Lapis Lazuli.”

“You can just call me Lapis—”

“—Lazuli,” Peridot finished cheekily, earning a sigh from the other girl.

“Insufferable,” Lapis mumbled.

Peridot smiled apologetically.

“Close your eyes,” Lapis said after a minute. Peridot looked at her skeptically. “Please?” Lapis added sweetly.

Peridot pouted and closed her eyes, begrudgingly unable to refuse Lapis’s request. A warm hand caressed her jaw and Peridot’s whole body went rigid. _Oh, fuck. She’s going go kiss me. Fuck, my lips are all chapped and dry. Shit—_ Peridot’s mental monologue was interrupted by a soft pair of lips on her cheek. Peridot’s eyes flew open and she glared at Lapis.

Lapis laughed at Peridot’s expression. “Take that as a thank you for earlier today.”

Peridot’s brain was so fried from the searing sensation on her cheek that she had no idea what Lapis was talking about. “Earlier today?”

“Earlier today,” Lapis said affirmatively. She stood up and walked back to the bell, climbing down and leaving Peridot alone, all hot and bothered.  


	3. A Thing or Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peridot you can't just grind up on some girl you met yesterday

The next morning, Peridot was lounging on a rocking chair on the porch of _The Pearl Hotel_ , her hat – which now sported a little dandelion – pulled down over her eyes and a pinch of chew under her lip. She kept slipping in and out of consciousness, fatigued from the sleep she lost last night thanks to a certain Lakota girl. After she returned from their little outing, she laid in bed all night squirming as the kiss replayed in her mind.

Speaking of the devil, footsteps on the wooden floorboards of the porch alerted Peridot to a presence. “Hello,” Peridot said, not bothering to look up.

“Good morning,” a familiar voice replied.

Peridot snapped from her lazy posture, her hat falling off her face and into her lap. She almost choked on her chewing tobacco. Peridot tried to regain her composure and spit some of the chew into the spittoon at her feet with a satisfying _plink!_ “Good morning, Lapis Lazuli.”

Lapis rolled her eyes, ignoring the fact that Peridot was still adamant about calling her by her full name. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Peridot asked. _Plink!_ She spit some more chew.

“That,” Lapis said, pointing at the spittoon.

“Oh,” Peridot said, leaning back in her chair, “I don’t know. I just spit at the spittoon and it works.” She did it again – _plink!_ – to emphasize her point. “Do you wanna try?” She offered the can of chew to Lapis.

Lapis hesitantly took the can and pinched a small bit of tobacco, “What do I…?”

“It goes between your lip and teeth, like this,” Peridot explained, pulling her bottom lip down to demonstrate. Lapis awkwardly placed the chew in her mouth and waited for further instruction. “Okay, now you just—” _Plink!_

“Alright,” Lapis said. She gathered up some of the tobacco-flavored spit on her tongue and spat at the spittoon. Instead of making a _plink!_ sound, the spit ran down Lapis’s chin.

Peridot laughed and got up from her chair, removing a handkerchief from her pocket. “Let me get that.” She gently wiped the spit from Lapis’s face, glancing up and meeting the pair of eyes that were currently boring into her. Peridot found herself unable to look away from the deep, dark blue. It reminded her of a week ago when she looked over her shoulder and saw the distant mountain ranges fading into navy silhouettes against the horizon. Peridot heard a breath hitch and she couldn’t tell if it was her own or Lapis’s, but the sound was enough to snap Peridot from her trance and make her step back, awkwardly clearing her throat. “I guess you’ll need to practice more,” she said quietly, trying to overcome the sudden feeling of vertigo Lapis’s eyes inflicted upon her.

An awkward silence stretched between them, both waiting with bated breath for the other to break the hushed atmosphere. Lapis took it upon herself to do so, “I bet you practice shooting a lot, huh?”

The change in topic gave Peridot momentary whiplash, bringing images to mind of all the _practice_ she had behind a gun. The man at the craps table. The two lawmen who pursued her afterwards. When Peridot avenged her father’s murder. “Oh, yeah. A bit I suppose…” She stared at a spot on the porch where the paint was chipping, her mind wandering off.

“I’ve never shot a gun.”

Peridot’s head snapped up. “What? That – That’s preposterous! Everyone ought to know how to shoot.” She grabbed an old soup can that was sitting by the door to the inn and tossed it into the road. “Here, I’ll teach you.” Peridot drew her revolver, holding it at her hip, aiming towards the can on muscle memory as she fanned the hammer, emptying all six shots in seconds. The first bullet hit the can and sent it into the air. The second bullet hit the can and sent it even higher, quickly followed by the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth bullets – Peridot aimed a bit higher after each shot. By the time her revolver was empty, the can had a good ten feet of height and came clattering to the ground. A few onlookers watched in awe as Peridot spun the gun around her finger, smirking at Lapis.

Lapis smiled, shaking her head, “You’re showing off.”

Reloading the gun, Peridot smiled and admitted, “A bit, yeah.” She stepped down from the porch, closer to the can, and beckoned Lapis to join her. “C’mere.”

Lapis hesitantly followed Peridot, who handed her the gun and stepped back so she was safely behind Lapis. Lapis held the revolver awkwardly, not sure what to do.

“Pull the hammer back,” Peridot instructed.

“Uhm…” Lapis turned the gun over in her hands, wondering what a _hammer_ was in the context of a firearm.

Peridot reached around her and cocked the hammer, “It’s this thing. You’re good to go now.”

Lapis raised the gun, both hands wrapped around the handle and both index fingers resting on the trigger. She closed one eye and squinted her other, trying to aim diligently. When she squeezed the trigger, the gun jumped in her hands and her ears rang painfully. A puff of dirt went up two feet to the right of the can.

“You’re not too far off, try again.”

Cocking the hammer back, Lapis repeated her attempt and missed again, this time to the left of the can.

“Here,” Peridot said, reaching around from behind Lapis. “Hold it like this,” she instructed, adjusting Lapis’s grip so her left hand was cupping the bottom of her right. “And put your elbow like this.” Peridot guided Lapis’s left elbow so it was resting against her breast, “Keep it firm against yourself, it helps steady the gun.” Lapis blushed but pressed her elbow in a bit tighter. Peridot then adjusted Lapis’s right hand so only the tip of her finger was resting against the trigger. “Use the tip of your finger. Less contact means it won't move as much when you pull the trigger.” Peridot’s hands moved to Lapis’s waist and turned her hips to face the can. Lapis’s face was on fire. With her hands still resting on Lapis’s waist, Peridot moved back and tapped the side of Lapis’s foot with her own, “Your left foot should face your target.” Lapis adjusted her stance accordingly. “Your right foot should be angled out a bit, as well.” At this point, a crowd of onlookers was watching the two girls curiously, which did nothing to help Lapis’s increasingly flustered state.

Oblivious to the crowd and Lapis’s blushing, Peridot bumped her knee against the back of Lapis’s, “Bend your knees just a bit—” she put a hand on Lapis’s shoulder and pushed forward gently, her other hand still on Lapis’s hip, “—and lean forward into the shot.”

When Lapis followed those instructions, her rear was pressed flush against Peridot’s body. Finally, Peridot noticed the awkwardness of their position, making an embarrassed squeak and quickly stepping back. She cleared her throat and pretended she didn’t just get a standing lap dance, “Uh-huh, just like that. Now try.”

Lapis tried to focus her aim on the can to no avail, mind still reeling over the way Peridot was touching her moments before. She could feel the townspeople staring at her - could sense Peridot waiting behind her with baited breath. Every time she went to put the can in her sights, her attention would get snapped back up with thoughts that no respectable gal should be having.

Despite her lapse in attention, Lapis managed to squeeze the trigger and – _PLINK!_

Peridot’s laugh cut through Lapis’s thoughts, “You did it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no excuse this chapter has been done for literal months but i've been having suicidal episodes a lot lately and i wanted to feel productive so just fucking take this trashy piece of shit sorry excuse for a chapter kjsahdjh  
> this chapter is lowkey me coming out as a gun loving degenerate. god . why do i write this drivel


End file.
